Selective animal trap



Oct. 11, 1949.

E. J. SCHREIBER SELECT IVE ANIMAL TRA? Filed July 2. 1948 Arr-ofe/vfys.

Patented Oct. 11, 1949 l 2,484,470; v l

snLEo'rIvE ANIMAL' Edward J; schreiber, Wiuimantic-oonn;

Applieationeulyz; 1948,'s`erima1jno; 36,1561" which -modifyA o-r prevent conventional ,operation wl'ierra.` domestic animal `with ythicker-legs fcauses. the trap to spring.

Affurtherobject is to havesuch aftrap provided'fwith apivoted jaw having-a locking notch: at oneisidevv or. lend `thereof for engaging-'withl the trapfspringfwhen theflatter has-become released in order to stop the spring mid-way of its travel and :prevent further-movement thereof:

Itis also an object -to Aprovide Vtherztra-p with 1a".

secondjaw which .is pivoted sorhighfat one end. orside adjacentvto thenotched end' of-ftheffirst-J mentioned jawL that itawilfl ltend to crowd -the trap; springrand- :direct .it -into Lthe locking notch-of the rstjaw when thesecondrjaw isimpeded or` blocked by the leg ofi-a dogHor-fpet animal;

. *A4-practical object is,- of course, to produceavtrap,v ot-theindicated character` which issimpler tow make-and :.use, Whichis durable and :notllikelyfto get-out rof order, ,and of such reasonable .costassr 15o-encourage widef distribution 4among ,farm-erst huntersv :and i trappers generally.

n Eurtherobjectsrandadvantages oli` my invention,Vv

will4 appear in :furt1f1er-v detail as the specification-, proceeds;-

In vorderto facilitate. ready.. comprehensionoff` this invention.` for proper appreciationv of: the:v salient-eatures thereof, the. invention,- is. illustratedz. on the accompanyingzdrawing. forming:`A

parthereof, and inwhich:

Figurelis .an Aelevatiszm' oan animal .tr-ap madea according. to the invention; and embodying-the same Aein a practicalA form7 4the vieWfbeingtaken looking through .the-two jaws when ytheyare held in --upright locked` position' Aby the trapgspring.;

Figure y2fisanL` end ,view-of the same :trapvalso in.i dioating the open piosition'of the-jaws-in broken lines.

Figure-3 .isfavplanview yof.itheftrapgas seernfioinI 1; the ,top zimFignreffl Figure 4 fis lan'fendele'vation '-similanto" that ofw'f Figureez," showing the' intermediate-noveliandl unconventionallyfoperated position of theffjaws,` particularly illustrating the features of trie-1` invention.

Figure -isaa` -fragmentaryplanview of the opere-i atingendmf thewtrapsprinfg showing theeyes portionthereof; which -operatesthe jaws.'`

Throughout the views,- theJ samef reference-5 numeralslindicate the :fsamesor likeparts- Ratlerffrequently ithas been Vthe yexperiencefof hunters andl trappers and especially farmers tliatfwhen animal traps -of the-pivoted j awtype are set out for wild animals, their ownl'pets; watch dogs; or valuableel'nmting"dogsc `have been caught andbadlycut 4bythe trap Yjaws, not to mentionv that? 'these' anima-lshavelsometimes also been'A subjectedto exposure ybecausey they'fwere unable Y to" escape and' reach the'-A accustomedhome4 or" shelter. This situation ha-sbeen so serious, that it" has gained unfavorable attention of various 1awmakingibodieswitli` the resultl that'in -severall l; t, States of this# country 'stringentla-ws have been passedl against' thefusef'of` all traps of this class.

Now it-'hfasfoccurred' to me Vthfathif an-animaltrap o-tthekind under"consideration'can be'furefnislied `with some novel4` means `which will impartthevcapacity,v for discriminatim'g between valuable" domestic and/farm animals and Wild animals intended `to-be1tralppedj such' a traprwill immediatelybe'safefandvirtually ideal to use', and in` fact'willbecomeanecessity in most rural dis= triots'feverywl'ieraV After 'carefully analyzing this problem; I have found'it 'quite feasible vto recast thekconventional yanimal trap inra novel form/to'- servef thief*mentionedpurpose as will' now be' described in detail.

Hence; irrthe practicev of my invention and" referring 'again tothe-drawing; the trap generally indicated 'I "primarily: includes thev more kor less conventional baseuplate" 8 having the upwardly' extending lugs 9 and Ill-at the ends thereof, While' tadjacentto' the lug the lbasel plate has a'k riveted conneetionat l Ilwith` the'trap spring I2; otiwhich Emorelater; Tothe luggis also vattached anfanchorilink bywh'ich aichain I4 may anchor thertrap tofaftreemr af postina mannerv supere i fluousoto: describe; as .itJ is entirely conventional.I

To their intermediateil portion f. of the bottom;v of ibase 'plated-:fis xed aztransversef cross plate` IST bytmeansoztriyetsfor theflike, thiscross'platebefingziprovided .iwith wnpair. of fitpwardl-y:` projectingr 55g lugs |61; lfto whicira` plate leverv llfisrzpivotedibyf means of pivot pin or rivet I8. Upon one end of this lever I1 is xed a tripping plate I9, which extends over the intermediate portion of base plate 8, while upon the pivoted end of the lever the latter is provided with a trip detent 20 adapted to cooperate with a trip member 2l terminating at one end in attachment ring 22 engaging the eye 23 in the outer or longer end of the cross plate I5.

In the previously mentioned upwardly extending lugs 9 and I0 are pivoted the trunnions 24, 25 extending rigidly in opposite directions from the side arms .or ends 26, 21 of a jaw 28, whichin general form and in its location in relation to the lugs is mainly conventional except for one feature which is about to be explained. The lower end of the jaw arm 21 extends through the eye 29 in the outer working end of the spring I2, the lower end being inclined or tapered toward the trunnion 25 and at a predetermined distance above the trunnion is provided with a notch 30 capable of receiving the side of the spring eye 29 therein if the jaw is prevented from being instantly raised by the spring in conventional operation. The mentioned jaw is that which is intended to be held readyto be tripped by contact of the foot of an animal with trip plate I9 by having the jaw 28 lowered into the position indicated at the right in broken lines in Figure 2, with the trip member 2| engaging in detent 20 of lever I1 in the lowered position of plate I9, as also indicated in broken lines in Figure 2, and in all respects, except for the lower tapered side or end 3|of the arm 21 carrying the notch 3E, are this jaw and the other appurtenances of the trap conventional.

However, the other jaw 32 has one conventional arm 33 provided with a trunnion 34 extending through an aperture in lug 9, but the other arm 35 is shorter than the arm 33 just described and is connected by a pivot pin or rivet 36 at its lower end to the upper end of a stub arm 31 formed with a trunnion 38 protruding through an aperture in the upwardly extending lug I0. The length of the arms 35 and 31 together are intended to equal arm 21 of the opposite jaw or the other arm 33 .of the same jaw 32, but due to the presence of the pivoted connection between the short arm 31 and the relatively longer arm 35 to make up the full length of the side this arm structure may be considered as provided with a knuckle just below the level of the notch 30 in the other jaw. The arrangement is such that when the trap is open and ready for operation, the spring I2 is of course held down particularly by jaw 28, the arm 21 thereof directly engaging against the spring when locking clip or member 2| holds the jaw in its lowered position upon cross plate I adjacent to aperture 23, the member 2| being hooked under the detent 2li and ready to be released therefrom upon an animal placing its foot upon contact plate I9. When this occurs, the latch member 2l is released from detent 2i) and allows jaw 28 to swing upwardly under the bias of the spring I2 by the side 40 of the spring at the right of the eye 29 wiping against the inclined or tapered side 3l of arm 21 .on jaw 281, and simultaneously the short arm 31 will be forced upwardly by the spring and provided that the animal at the trap has a thin leg, the spring will quickly proceed upwardly to erect the upper arm 35 of jaw 32 while the inclined side portion 4D will quickly pass notch 30 and engage against the upper section 4I of arm 21, as shown in full lines in Figure 2, so that both jaws 28 and 32: will close upon the leg of the animal. Should the animal at the trap be a domestic pet or a valuable dog, such animals as a rule have thicker legs than the wild animals largely because they are wellfed and cared for, and in such case the relatively thicker leg would impede the upward erection of jaw 32 above pivot 36, so that the outer side or edge 42 of upper short arm 35 of jaw 32 would temporarily form a stop or at least an impediment to the upward movement of the spring I2 and thereby would crowd the spring in such fashion as to cause it to enter the notch 30 in jaw arm 21, thereby stopping the springmid-way and preventing it from proceeding further up to close the jaws. The result is that the jaws will occupy the semi-closed position shown in Figure 4,

ywherein a suicient space is left between the jaws 28 and 32 to allow a domestic animal to withdraw the foot from the trap without harm.

As already stated, when the animal stepping on contact plate i3 has a relatively thin leg, the spring in its sudden upward movement has time to pass the notch 35,! and is already engaging against the upper section il of the inclined side of the jaw arm 21 and the side 42 of the upper short arm 35 of jaw 32 by the time that the spring comes to a stop and therefore will hold the jaws tightly upon the leg between them.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawing it is quite clear that the present trap is actually selective so that it will automatically operate when a domestic animal approaches and causes the spring to release and the jaws to operate, whereas when a wild animal steps on the contact plate the operation of the trap is conventional and the animal is held by the trap until the jaws are released by the hunter `or farmer involved.

Manifestly variations may be resorted to in parts and features may be modied or used without others within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim:

1. In a pivoted jaw trap having a base plate with upwardly projecting end lugs, a cross plate secured to the intermediate portion of the base plate and projecting from one side thereof, a trip lever pivoted at one end to a portion upon the cross plate and having a detent at the pivoted end thereof and a contact plate upon anotherV portion thereof, a pivoted jaw having a pair of opposite arms terminating in oppositely extending trunnions pivotally mounted in the end lugs, a latch member movably connected at one end to said cross plate in a position to engage the other end thereof with the detent and simulel taneously hold the jaw down in open position on said cross plate, and a trap spring xed at one end to said base plate within said one end lug thereon and having an eye within the other end through which one arm of the jaw extends in closed upright position of the latter, the featuresV which include an inclined outer side upon one arm tapering toward the trunnion thereof and having a locking notch disposed a predetermined distance from said trunnion, a second jaw having one arm terminating in a trunnion pivotally mounted in said one end lug and an opposite short arm which terminates short of the other end lug, and a stub arm pivotally connected at one end to said short arm and having a trunnion on the other end pivotally mounted in said other end lug, the short arm and Vstub arm pivotally connected thereto being disposed at the end of said second jaw corresponding to that of the arm on the first-mentioned jaw having the tapered side with the locking notcth.

2. In a pivoted jaw trap having a base plate with upwardly projecting end lugs, a cross plate secured to the intermediate portion of the base plate and projecting from one side thereof, a trip lever pivoted at one end to a portion upon the cross plate and having a detent at the pivoted end thereof and a contact plate upon another portion thereof, a pivoted jaw having a pair of opposite arms terminating in oppositely extending trunnions pivotally mounted in the end lugs, a latch member movably connected at one end to said cross plate in a position to engage the other end thereof with the detent and simultaneously hold the jaw dov/n in open position on said cross plate, and a trap spring Xed at one end to said base plate within said one end lug thereon and having an eye within the other end through which one arm of the jaw extends in closed upright position of'the latter, the features which include an inclined outer side upon one arm tapering toward the trunnion thereof and having a locking notch disposed a predetermined distance from said trunnion, a second jaw having one arm terminating in a trunnion pivotally mounted in said one end lug and an opposite short arm which terminates short of the other end lug, a stub arm having a trunnion on one end pivotally mounted. in said other end lug and a pivot member pivotally connecting the other end to the end of said short arm at a relatively shorter distance from. the last-mentioned end lug than the distance from said locking notch upon the one arm of said first-mentioned jaw from the same end, the short arm and stub arm pivotally connected thereto being disposed at the end of said second jaw corresponding to that of the arm on the rstmentioned jaw having the tapered side with the locking notch.

3. In a pivoted jaw trap having a pair of cooperating pivoted jaws mounted to swing upwardh together from the base plate and a spring having an eye in one end thereof engaging with the arms of the jaws at one end of the hase plate to close said jaws, the vfeatures which include a tapered outer working side upon one arm of one jaw having an intermediate notch therein adapted to he engaged by one side of the spring at the eye thereof, an inclined portion upon said side of the spring facilitating the engagement thereof with said notch, and a pivoted joint upon an intermediate portion of the corresponding arm at the same end of the trap upon the other jaw allowing said jaw at said end to pivot upon the pivot joint independently of the pivotal connection of the jaw at the same end to the base plate.

EDWARD J. SCHREIBER.

No references cited. 

